History of Chateau de Detilly

The owner has culled this information from journals and old books. To the best of his knowledge it is correct.

Le Chateau de Detilly, or Destilly as it was originally known, is built upon a site which in the 10th century was a villa called Destilliacus. In due course it became a 'chatellenie' under royal authority because of its close proximity to the Chateau at Chinon.

In 954 the grounds belonged to Joseph the archbishop of Tours, who apparently created a hunting lodge.

The archbishop gave the property to Gombard who is the first recorded lord of Destilly. Around 1200 it passed into the hands of de Brizay.

Today Detilly consists of four important elements; the lordly house; the monumental arched gate, the outbuildings and the chapel.

The chapel was formerly dedicated to Saint Marc and to Notre Dame de Pitie, and is of rectangular construction, dating to the 13th century. This replaced a more primitive structure founded by Robert de Poce and consecrated around 1135 by Hugues de la Ferte, the archbishop of Tours.

Access to the east-west oriented chapel is gained through an arched doorway crowned with heavy moulding. A small window of the same style illuminates the nave. On either side of the altar are two niches for statues. Two buttresses flank the western end, where the present-day door is located.

In l508 Jehan de Valery makes mention of the 'beautiful and honest edifice which is the foundation of my ancestors'. The chapel was served by the priest of Saint-Louans for two consecutive years, followed by the Prior of Beaumont. It may not have been in use by the time of the revolution as it is not recorded in the registers of 1777 and l 787.

In 1466 the property passed to the Valery family. In 1555 it first passed to Adam de Hodon and subsequently in the same year to Beaudouin de Champagne.

This was the period in history when the Loire Valley was racked with ferocious religious wars. In 1562 the Count Montgomery attacked the fortress that was on the site, which he pillaged and destroyed. There was great loss of life; over 400 people died, including two children of the lord of the Chateau of Chinon. It was after these troubles that the present structure was built on the ruins of the old fortress. The grenier (attic) was constructed to look like the inverted hull of a boat.

In 1560 Philippe de Valery reclaimed the property through legal rights of lineage, and it remained in the possession of his descendants until the middle of the 18th century. A member of the Valery family was one of the noblemen that accompanied King Louis XVI when he attempted to escape from Paris during the revolution.

A feature is the monumental stone gateway leading to the courtyard. At its entablature, flanked by two fins and crowned with a triangular pediment, are two coats of arms which have been partially destroyed. There is little doubt they are the arms of Valery. The French government has classified the arch to be of historical interest.

In recent years the Chateau was owned by Alfred Sirven who extensively renovated it in a sympathetic manner so as to recreate a modern comfortable residence without the loss of the original features.

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